A day in the French Quarter with my sister for some eating, shopping and wandering… getting to play tourist in your home town is always so much fun! This is my favorite dress right now, I have to hold back from wearing it everyday. It’s so comfortable and I love that it is black and white so it matches with everything!

While in New Orleans, I was lucky to have my sis to take these photos, and I took some of her that you can see on her beautiful blog! * I know, I know, I was in New Orleans in December and January… you could say I am a little behind in getting this post up…

Note: This was published March 1, 2012. Facebook tends to update things frequently so if you see that anything is out of date, or you have any questions, please let me know and I’ll update this post!

On March 30, 2012, all Facebook Pages will get a new design, kinda scary, right? But the good news is, you can preview your page and try out the new features now! Just hit the “preview” button when prompted and you don’t need to publish it until you are ready (or March 30)!

I manage a few different fan pages on Facebook so when I saw that the timeline for pages was launching, I decided to go ahead and get the switch over with! I definitely learned a few things during this process and would love to share some tips!

Choose a Unique Cover Image

The new design includes a huge cover image (851 x 315 pixels) to immediately convey your brand to the public. Your cover photo is the first thing people will see when they visit your page so it’s important to be creative and have something unique! The photo should introduce your company and engage new viewers.

Example: I wanted to feature my workspace as well as a welcoming photo of myself, so I created a custom design. Some other examples of engaging photography might include, a new item in your shop, custom artwork, a popular menu item or a picture of people enjoying your services.

Simple Profile Photos Are Best

Your profile picture represents your page on other parts of Facebook, like in news feed. Select an image that is clear, simple and easily recognizable. Use your logo or another image that represents your company. Choose a photo that is square and scales well from 180 x 180 pixels to 32 x 32 pixels.

Example: For the Ciera Design page I used a simple texture along with a clean font for my company name.

Highlight What’s Important

Photos, likes and apps are now larger icons located directly beneath your Cover Image, instead of the traditional tabs along the left side of your page. Photos show in the first spot, but you can change the order of everything else so people see what matters most. Four apps are highlighted so make sure to arrange them in order of importance (you can show a maximum number of 12 apps when this view is expanded).

Example: The Ciera Design blog, Esty shop and photography are the things I want my viewer to see first, so I placed those apps in the key spaces. Other apps such as Linked In, Twitter and email sign-up are not crucial so I placed them below, along with my likes tab.

Directions: Expand the apps menu by clicking on the triangle to the right of your visible apps. Hover over each app and click the pencil icon that appears. Choose the app you’d like to swap into that spot from the menu.

Customize App Icons

Unlike the old page design, the new page lets you upload your own custom app image, which is really great! Since these tabs are now smack at the top of you page, they can really look a mess if you don’t customize them… so customize your app icons!

Before Custom App Images:

After Custom App Images:

Example: After I arranged my apps in my preferred order, I designed three custom images that matched the look of my profile photo. I wanted these icons to be bold and simple.

Directions: For each app that you would like to customize, design one image (111 x 74 pixels), click the pencil icon and “edit settings.” Here you can update the “Custom Tab Image” and the “Custom Tab Name.” Make those changes and don’t forget to hit “okay” to save!Update: You can not be in preview mode for this, but you can prepare your image ahead of time for when you are ready to make the switch.

After making these simple design changes you will be on your way to a cohesive looking Facebook page! You have from now until March 30 to work on your design in preview mode before the timeline goes live for all! If you have any questions, please leave them in the comments below.

Please note that Facebook has placed some restrictions on what can be used in your Page Cover Image, such as no direct call to action, no website url, and no directions to Like or Share your page… read more about restrictions for Cover Images here on Facebook.

February brought a few days of feeling homesick but also an appreciation for the Northeast as I was able to spend some beautiful days outdoors during this mild winter! In February I updated my Etsy shop, crossed a few things off my 30 before 30 list and joined formspring so feel free to ask me anything! And in case you missed anything throughout the month, here are my favorite posts:

My first time to Vermont! I didn’t do any skiing this time around but went on a short hike which was beautiful. The trail was iced over so we had to hold on to tree branches to keep from slipping… even though that didn’t stop me from falling on my butt! We were only about 10 feet from the road so I thought it was a pretty funny “nature walk” but really enjoyed the nice time outdoors.

February is slowly coming to a close and I’d be thrilled to help you promote your blog, small business, vintage store, band or Etsy shop in March! I’ve got some fun posts planned so if you want to find out more about sponsoring, check out my advertising page. The featured sponsor spot is still available, so grab it while you can!

Sponsoring Ciera Design not only means that you get to advertise your business to my lovely readers, but it also means that you’re supporting me in creating what you see here! If you’re interested in sponsoring please check out my advertising page and we can get started! Have questions? Feel free to contact me.

Today is my 4th time missing Mardi Gras in 29 years. The second time missing it as an adult. Needless to say, that makes me a little homesick today. I baked a king cake last night and can’t wait to share it with friends tonight but really wishing I was down in New Orleans with these crazies!

A new favorite font for you today! Carolyna, a charming new font by the Emily Lime foundry is meant to be formal, yet whimsical so that you can achieve a modern calligraphy feel.

Carolyna Pro uses OpenType features to assist with letter flow and to give each creation that spontaneous, hand-lettered touch. With over 1,000 characters, there are many stylistic alternates and fun swashes to choose from. Carolyna also has a bolder and sassy sibling, Carolyna Pro Black that was just released. So go grab them from MyFonts and create something beautiful!

This month I am participating in a February Photo A Day Challenge. I’m REALLY enjoying having a daily photo prompt and checking out what everyone else has done! It is a great way to get inspired to photograph something that may not be in your normal comfort zone. Here are my photos from day 1-14.

Happy Valentine’s Day! I like to think of Valentine’s Day as a day to make the special people in your life feel loved, not just a day for couples. So I’d like to take a sec to tell you how much I appreciate all of your comments and support here on the blog and I hope you all feel loved today!!! xoxo Ciera

* I was planning to post a delicious Valentine’s Day dessert today but yesterday while finishing up Z’s v-day gift I cut my finger pretty badly with an exacto knife and didn’t get around to cooking. Guess I’ll have to save that post for next year

Hi Y’all! I’m Ciera…

a graphic designer who loves photography, traveling, festivals, coffee, keyboard shortcuts and helping other small businesses to succeed. The studio is based in New Orleans but accepts clients worldwide! Read More…